What Lies Beneath
by LauraW89
Summary: during season's 2 finale. There's so much more than what is to be seen on the surface.


**I do not own MIOBI nor its characters**

**What lies beneath**

She silently walks after him with the others, Kelly, Lauren and Kaylie, they all know they screwed up the first day. Why Sasha hasn't said a word on the other hand nobody understands. When they walk into the room everybody feels uncomfortable, except for Lauren who goes to the phone immediately.

'Hello, can I get roomservice please.' She speaks into it.

'Hang up that phone.' Is the warning she gets from her coach. 'No food, no phones, nothing until you've figured out what happened today.'

When Kaylie is about to explain Sasha stops her, they need to tell each other, not him. He already knows why they didn't pull it together today. He doesn't care how long it will take or how hungry and sleep deprived they will get, they need to stop acting like spoiled little brats and start being a team, a real team who will stand up for each other. Sighing he closes the door behind him and slumps to the ground, this is going to be a long night. It doesn't take long before he hears the yelling start and just as he expected they're blaming each other. He shakes his head, he should have noticed that they weren't a team. Kelly Parker was an outsider non of his Rock Rebels accepted and his Rebels had enough drama in their own lives to not feel like a team anymore and this was the only thing he could come up with to pull them together for tomorrow. He listens to the yelling for another second before putting in his earplugs and turning on his iPod.

'Sasha.' He hears a soft voice calling him. He shakes the hand on his shoulder away, not wanting to wake up already.

'Go away.' He manages to murmur. It's than that he hears a low chuckle and feels somebody, probably the one belonging to the voice, pulling out his earplugs.

'Sasha, come on, you can't sleep in the hallway.' The soft voice speaks. He is sure he feels a hand brush his cheek, but when he leans into the touch the hand is gone.

'Hey sleepy, I'm not strong enough to drag you through the hallway, you really have to wake up.' Slowly he opens his eyes than, for the first time seeing the person in front of him. He shouldn't have been surprised it's her, but for a moment he is.

'Payson?'

'Hi. You're okay?'

'I'm fine, but what are you doing here?'

She smiles at him, a smile he knows she only gives him without even realizing it. He wonders if she'll always keep looking at him like that, he sure wouldn't mind.

'We talked as you told us to. You were right, we needed to sort things out before tomorrow, and we did. The others just left, I was just making sure you got to your room tonight.'

He nods his acknowledgement and tries to stand up, but his knee won't let him. He sucks in a deep breath before making a new attempt.

'Come here you, let me help.' Payson offers and he gratefully accepts.

'Must be the cold.'

'And the awkward sleeping position I'm sure.' She adds with a grin on her face. She lets go of him the second he's standing and starts walking towards the elevator. The loss of contact hurts more than he wants to admit. He shakes his head, why is he thinking this, she's his gymnast. The kiss was just a crush and he pushed her away. Just as he had pushed away the memory of her sparkling eyes seconds before she kissed him, the touch of her lips against his, the look on her face the moment he'd pushed her away, but most of all the feeling of wanting to take her in his arms, protecting her from everything. But he had heard the gossip the whole day and couldn't help but feel guilty. Guilty that he hadn't seen it coming, but even more guilty because he wanted nothing more than to be with her, every single moment of every single day. And that was something that could never happen.

'So you sorted everything out?' He starts, trying to clear his head of thoughts he shouldn't have.

'Yes we did, tomorrow we'll be a real team, like we should.' She answers him. The look in her eyes telling him she's speaking the truth.

'Good, good. We still have a chance to win, so… good.' He knows he's not making a lot of sense right now, but it doesn't matter. As long as he gets out of the elevator without overstepping boundaries. When the doors open he wishes her goodnight and nearly sprints to him hotelroom. A shower, yes that's what he needs right now. The hot droplets of water on his skin help him relax, but don't take away the ache in his heart that started forming the day she broke her back. He throws his fist into the wall and curses when the pain penetrates his mind. What the hell is he supposed to do now?

#

'Payson.' She feels a shiver run down her spine. The accent never fails and she curses herself for responding to it. She turns around to find him standing in front of her, a lot closer than she expected.

'Yes Sasha?' She asks him, trying not to stare.

'I asked if you're ready for today?' She smiles and than nods.

'More than ready.' He mirrors her smile and than orders her to join her team mates.

'Alright girls, I know yesterday was a disaster, but it does give us an advantage. Nobody is expecting us to deliver, so we have nothing to loose. Let's make sure everybody was wrong about us. Let's show what we've got! USA on three.'

'One…' He puts out his hand.

'Two…' His Rebels are the first to join him.

'Three…' The fiery look on their faces makes him confident they will all make it.

'USA!'

They walk into the arena with their heads held high, they'll show them what they've got and nobody will see it coming. Payson smiles to herself, this is it, all or nothing.

'Lauren, you're up first.' Sasha guides her away from the team, preparing her for beam.

'Sasha I have to tell you something.' He looks at her confused. She's shaking and her eyes are scanning all over the floor without really seeing anything.

'Calm down, you don't have to be nervous.' He tries to sooth her.

'No, no it's not that. I… I have to tell you something else. Something I did. We have all been honest with each other and so should I.' She whispers. He squats beside her so they're eye to eye. 'I'm so sorry Sasha, but the video of Payson kissing you, I send it to Beals… it was me, but I'm so sorry.' Tears are running down her face, she's shaking all over but he can't move.

'From the United States of America, Lauren Tanner on beam.' They both her the pronouncer say.

'I'm so sorry Sasha, I thought you'd take Summer away from me. Please forgive me, please you have to. I need you to believe in me.' He still feels like he's frozen to the ground. For a moment he closes his eyes. He could have known it was Lauren, but realizing why she did it he can't be mad at her, not really. This girl has been through so much without anybody to rely on. Well that's going to change, she has a team to support her, and he belongs to that team as well. he sees her walking towards the beam and follows her

'Lauren.' He swallows away the anger he hears in his voice. 'What you did was wrong, but I understand why you did it. I know you didn't think about the consequences and we'll talk about this later. The only thing you need to know now is that I forgive you and that I care. We're a team, me as much as any of you. We stick together.' He puts his hand on her shoulder and for the first time he sees a genuine smile on Lauren's face. 'Now you go and amaze everybody is this arena.'

'Yes Sasha.'

The hug he gets after her perfect performance lets him know they'll be alright in the end, and that's all that matters for now.

'I know I have to tell Payson, and I will. But can it be after today.' Sasha nods and she hurries away. He watches his gymnasts until he finds the one who has been on his mind for moths now.

'Payson you're up next.'

'Yes Sasha.' She walks up to him, looking as confident as ever.

'I don't know what you said to Lauren, but it must have really helped.' She murmurs so only he can hear.

He hates to hide stuff from her, but knows she'll know soon enough. 'I think I finally got through to her, but we'll have to see about that later. For now all I want to see is a perfect vault. You think you can make that happen?'

'You know I can.' She answers cheekily while she moves away. The moment she starts running he can see something's wrong, but before he can stop her she's flying through the air. For a moment he hopes it will turn out okay, but than she hits the mats.

Payson had never thought she would know how Sasha had looked the day she broke her back, but the instant she fell on those mats after her vault she did. The horrified look on his face was something she never wants to see on his face again, but those piercing blue eyes are all she sees right now. He rushed to her the minute she hit the mats. Now he was putting his hands on her, making sure she's okay. The moment his fingers touch her skin she wants nothing more than to hold on to him, to never let him go. She's sure he can feel the shiver that rushes over her body and can only hope he brushes it of as a side effect from the fall.

She knows it isn't smart of her to think like that, after all they've been through, after all that happened after she kissed him months before. She heard the gossip today and the day before, some gymnasts whispering snarky comments, others bluntly directing it to her face. It had put her of game more than she wanted to admit, and she sure wasn't going to confess to Sasha why her floorroutine on the first day was the worst she'd ever performed. She wasn't sure he'd noticed the comments, because he hadn't said anything about it to make her think he had. Last night she had blamed the mess that's called Max caused her distraction, but even to her own ears she didn't sound sincere. She knew the reason of her troubled mind and last night he'd been sleeping in the hallway, guarding his Rebels. She'd taken the liberty to stroke his cheek before he was fully awake, drowsy eyes meeting hers before realizing who she was. That moment she was sure he'd wanted to lean into her touch, but she never find out. He's her coach and she won't make the same mistake twice.

'Payson, are you alright?'

'It hurts.'

'Okay, we need a doctor to take a look at it. Come on.' He puts an arm around her waist to pull her up and to guide her away, but she's not moving.

'I still have another vault Sasha.'

'You cannot be serious.'

'Yes I am, I have to do this, for my parents Sasha, you know I have to.' He looks at her, for once completely clueless.

'You can't even stand on two feet properly.'

'Well than I'll stand on one.'

'Please Sasha, please.'

He stands in dubio, on the one hand this could be the end of her, but on the other, if she nails it this could guarantee a medal. 'Alright.' He sighs, he must be going insane.

'Thank you Sasha.' He's almost to afraid to look when she runs towards the vault, but she never stops amazing him, the one legged landing is beautiful. She did the impossible. Her team mates are hugging her and he rushes to her side to steady her. Again he feels a shiver go through her body, is it because of him? He doesn't have time to think about it for Kaylie has to substitute for Payson on floor.

'Ooh my god, did anybody think this would happen. The USA has made the comeback of a lifetime. This could be gold after all. Kaylie Cruz announced just this morning she's battling an Eating Disorder, but with a performance like this I'm sure she'll be alright.' The announcer blares through the speaker. Sasha can't help but agree, his girls are back and better than ever. He looks up the scoreboard and cheers with the rest of the team when they see 1. USA. Unknowingly he pulls in Payson, flush against his body, hugging her a bit tighter than he probably should.

#

At the party he sees looks around the room and vaguely sees Kaylie and Austin being a bit to intimate with each other, but just as he is about to go over to them he notices that punk Max come up to Payson, pulling her into a congratulating hug. He has already taken a few steps before he realizes he's moving and when he sees Payson hugging back he stops. What is he doing? She should be celebrating with people her own age, even if they're breaking the no-dating rule. With a sigh he directs himself towards the bar. He will never jeopardize her happiness.

Payson knows she should be happy Max told her he loves her, but she can't shake of the nagging feeling that she doesn't really feel the same, even though she told him she loved him. She notices Sasha, seemingly walking towards her, but apparently changing his mind halfway. She watches him leave the room and wants nothing more than to follow him. That's when she realizes that the feelings she felt these past few days are a lot stronger than they should.

'Why do I always find you outside the party?' She murmurs as she comes up next to him. He's sitting on the ground, back supported by the massive outside wall of the arena.

'Because I was meant to coach gymnastics , not to walk around in a bloody tuxedo to please people I do not like.' He answers dryly, his British accent more prominent after the couple of drinks she's sure he had. She laughs at that before sitting down next to him. She's closer than she should, but she doesn't care. She closes her eyes and sighs, his mere presence already relaxing her.

'Is something wrong?' She shakes her head, but keeps her eyes closed.

'Payson?' He never not notices something is wrong and begrudgingly she opens her eyes to look at him. She was sitting close, but he moved into her, his face just inches away from hers. She can smell his preferred liquor on his breath, scotch. Without realizing she licks her lips.

'I'm fine Sasha, just tired I guess.' She answers, trying to sound sincere.

'Payson, you cannot fool me.'

'It's nothing, trust me.' He keeps looking at her, not believing a word she says. But he lets it go for now.

'And why aren't you inside? You should be enjoying the attention. I saw you and Max, you shouldn't leave him alone too long.' He says, not meaning a word of it.

'We both know Max is not what I want.' He hears her say quietly and he's sure she didn't mean for him to hear it.

'Max should be someone you want.' He says anyway.

'I know, it's just that…' She sighs. 'Never mind, I'll leave you to it than.' She's about to stand up, but he stops her by taking her hand.

'You heard the gossip today?' He asks without looking at her.

'Yes, and the gossip yesterday.' She admits.

'Is that why you performed so poorly?' She smiles involuntarily, he knows her so well. Nodding she answers. 'You weren't supposed to find out about that.'

'I always find out everything about you, all of you.'

'I know.'

She leans into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. Without speaking he takes her hand into his, intertwining their fingers.

'I'm sorry you had to go through that.'

'Why are you sorry, I'm the one who started the kiss. If anybody should feel guilty it's me.' She tries, but knows it's pointless.

'I'm your coach, I should know what you think before you can act upon it.' At that she stays silent, nothing she will say can change his mind.

After a while she just wants to know one thing. 'This won't change anything will it?'

He can hear the fear in her voice. Placing his hand under her chin he guides up her face. With his thumb he strokes away a single tear running down her cheek. 'This, we, will never change. I promise.'

She smiles up at him, hearing the words she so desperately wanted to hear. Leaning into his touch she sighs contently, she could sit like this forever. He lets go of her hand and puts it around her waist, pulling her closer. As a respond she puts her hand around his waist, hugging him back.

How long they sit like that is unknown to Payson, but what she does notice is the kiss Sasha presses to her temple and the feel of his body against hers. She hears his heart beat steadily, but whenever she pulls him closer the beating will speed up, letting her know how much he cares for her.

There's so much more to him than other people think, but she's the only one who know what lies beneath.

**A/N I just felt some Payson/Sasha time was missing in the seasons final, but it didn't go as I planned, but that happens most of the time anyway, also I don't know how Lauren got messed up in this little drabble but she did. The title obviously let space for deeper feelings and I was disappointed they didn't go there, so I did (may have taken the liberty to adjust some scenes, but hey it's FF haha) For now this is a one shot, but you never know. I may continue if season 3 gives me inspiration for that. Just let me know what to think, reviewing only takes a short second, and it makes me really happy :)**


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